Another week, another reason to announce that "the honeymoon is over". Or maybe, given a certain anniversary, we can give it an "Obama returns from moon" twist.
The latest news is a little more substantive than previous thrill-is-gone declarations: Obama's poll ratings are falling significantly on key issues, including health and the economy.
So: does he have a situation?
I don't think they'll be hitting the panic button in the White House. The president is still personally popular. Indeed, what seems to be happening is that people are expressing their frustration with Obama for not spending enough public time on the issues they personally care about most. They want more of him, not less:
At the same time, there is no slackening in public desire for Obama to
keep pressing for action on the major issues of the economy, health
care and the deficit. Majorities think he is either doing the right
amount or should put greater emphasis on each of these issues.
This is the inevitable result of doing everything (economic crisis management, health care, climate change, along with two wars) at once. Or, in the metaphor that Matt Bai spins out entertainingly for the New York Times, of being the shuffle president. Obama can keep all these plates spinning for only so long. He's got to start getting them down safely - Alert! Metaphor spinning out of control! - or run the risk of them all crashing to the ground, along with his chances of reelection. It's one reason why there's such urgency coming from the White House to get health care done and dusted by August. They know they're in a furious race against the clock.
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